The Packhouse
What monster lurks inside of Norman? That question remains. It was never a matter of where we would see it again, but more a matter of when. The ionic energy of Hurricane Matthew brought him out once. What could possibly do that again?
The events that took place at the hotel with Norman changed the way I approached paranormal research. I came up with the idea of taking the haunted doll on our investigations from there on out, just to see if that would amplify the alleged activity or open up a new level of communication. I was right on both accounts.
It is well known within the field of paranormal research that spirits utilize man-made energy to affect the atmosphere around you, make sounds, communicate, and even manifest. Up until now, man-made objects have always been the energy source for an entity to feed from. There are cases in which the earth’s natural electromagnetism has been the energy source for strange phenomena, but those cases are very rare in the grand scheme of things. Then there are the spirits who have their own energy, and that was what I counted on Norman using.
Now we had a new tool of the trade. That tool was Norman. Now we had a direct line into the spiritual realm. Instead of relying on electronic voice phenomenon or spirit boxes, with the doll, we had our own spirit to do the translating for us. I was hoping spirits in active locations would harness Norman’s power and speak through him. What happened at the hotel led me to start using Norman during paranormal field research. The results of those investigations were flat out astonishing. This became the “if you can’t beat them, join them” mentality.
Instead of relying solely on electrical items to provide fuel for Norman, why not allow another spirit to do it? After all, that is something we really can’t measure currently, so as of right now, the possibilities are endless.
If we were going to try this, the first attempt needed to be at a place we knew had paranormal tendencies. I wanted to waste no time doing it either. I immediately thought of one of our older cases. This case was dubbed “the Packhouse.”
The Packhouse
Since 2015, Christina and I have researched the centuries-old, former Haitian slave refuge with incredible results. Located in Warsaw, North Carolina, the old structure was inherited by the McKenzie family and later converted into a secondhand shop to service the needy community.
It is believed the ghost of former Warsaw police chief Michael McKenzie Sr. haunts the historic building. Our research over the years certainly added substance to that belief. During our search there, I personally witnessed a golf club swing from where it was once hanging on a wall.
I also documented a police-issue boot being thrown across the room when I asked the spirit to throw something. More documentation continued over the years to the tune of radios turning off and on, investigators having personal encounters, and even Angela, the wife of Michael McKenzie Jr., being thrown down a flight of steps.
During this time, the McKenzie family were in the middle of renovating the age-old structure. They wanted to turn it into a hangout of sorts for friends and families. They also wanted to make it a base of operations for community benefits.
During the day was fine. I guess it was that old “safety in numbers” thing. Regardless of its purpose, it was never going to be inhabited overnight. The family made that very clear following the attack on Angela. The chief never approved of his son marrying Angela. That quickly became the believed motivation for his attack.
But all of that was neither here nor there for the purpose at hand. The location was packed with spiritually active residual energy, and that was all we needed to know.
I viewed it as lighting a keg of gun powder. It will only explode if gun powder is in it, otherwise the flame is useless. Norman was the light, the Packhouse was the keg, and the ghost of Police Chief McKenzie was the gun powder.
My goal was to fuel Norman with that energy to see if he could intensify his communication and psychic ability so we could learn more about the chief. Essentially, I wanted to see if I could take what he had done at the hotel a step further. I knew there was something dark deep inside of that doll. He chose when and where to come out.
I was growing tired of him having the upper hand. I couldn’t even begin to solve the problem without knowing what the problem was. So I had to create more opportunity for him to manifest.
I contacted the McKenzie family about bringing Norman to their location for an experimental investigation. They had followed along with my career. They had also read and seen everything I had to offer with Norman since the beginning.
So it goes without saying the McKenzie family approved.
It had been a little over a month since the hotel incident with Norman. The beginning of March was here, and with that came time to conduct our experiment at the old Packhouse.
Going into it, I wasn’t looking for any more validation on the ghost of the chief. I already knew the police chief haunted that location. Focus would be entirely on Norman and seeing if the chief could speak through him.
I guess you could say I needed the rock concert without the band.
This wasn’t going to be a “bells and whistles” investigation either. Although we had the majority of our research equipment on hand, the idea was to let Norman run the show, not us.
That night’s agenda was simple: meet the McKenzie family at the Packhouse, have dinner, bring Norman, and film the outcome. My plan was to stay behind the camera to make sure everything and anything relevant was properly captured.
We met the McKenzie family at around seven in the evening and began setting up in the bar area of the Packhouse. The renovations that had already taken place provided a long, wooden bar and overhead track lighting.
I placed Norman in the center of the room on the bar. I also set up a stagnant camera to monitor and record the entire session. Joining Christina and me were Michael Jr., Angela, and her brother Chris, who would be appearing in most of the video and images. And of course, Norman was in tow.
For the most part, Michael stood next to me at the side of the bar. Christina was going to handle the majority of the communication session. She was sitting to the right of Chris, just off camera, in front of the bar. Angela stayed firmly behind the bar.
Five people were in that room with one very haunted doll. Chris is a skeptic, but he is also fair and open-minded. He agreed to participate as long as he could be immersed and not just a spectator. I had no issue with his wishes and welcomed the skepticism.
Once everyone and everything was in place, I fired up the camera to begin documenting the first Norman investigation trial. The McKenzie family fired up cigarettes. I figured, Why the hell not? In my studies so far with Norman, fire and smoke seem to be his go-to.
Christina began by introducing everybody to Norman. She followed that up by asking him to let us know if he was in the room. Right on cue, the overhead lights began to flicker. Chris and Angela started staring above them as the ceiling danced like a strobe.
We all glanced around at each other. I could tell the McKenzie family were looking to me for assertion and validation. I gave the nod of acknowledgement to Christina that the communication session had officially begun.
Christina wanted to prove it was Norman that initially made the lights flicker and not some malfunction brought forth by the recent renovations. That was definitely something that needed to be ruled out considering the work that the McKenzies were doing inside. She continued and asked Norman to make the lights flicker again.
Norman makes the lights flicker
Immediately, the lights above us began pulsating in and out. Every one of us focused on the ceiling. The room looked like a rave was taking place with how abundant the lights bouncing off and on were. As the lights in the room continued to flash, Christina asked Norman what he thought of Chris.
In an instant, Norman responded by calling him an “idiot.” We couldn’t keep from laughing because it caught us all off guard and was a spot-on description. Chris is the self-appointed clown when he wants to be. He is known for his silly antics and being the life of the party. So it came as no surprise that Norman referred to him as such. It was incredible to witness such a personal and intelligent response from the doll.
The tone of the room was serious up until that point, but none of us could contain the continued laughter. Even Norman recognized that fact.
He said, “You laugh,” as if to let us know he was aware of what was going on in the room.
While we were still laughing, Angela decided to see if placing a crucifix in Norman’s lap would have any effect on his responses or activeness.
The ambience in the room reverted back to its original, serious tone after Norman responded to her actions. Norman exclaimed he was afraid upon Angela placing that cross on his lap.
I immediately started thinking back to the hotel investigation with Christina and Darren. Any time we would introduce something that was rooted in religion, Norman would respond appropriately. The session at the Packhouse was proving to be no different. Norman once again was exhibiting disdain toward the crucifix. This might lead one to believe that Norman was in fact a demon, and that is a strong possibility. But at the same time, even the nicest, most innocent, and loving religious person fears God’s wrath.
We continued to watch and listen for the next little outburst from the haunted doll. Just when the room was starting to become uncomfortably quiet, Norman spoke again. This time he was making it clear that the cross was unwelcome, and he knew exactly who to blame for it.
Norman’s response to the crucifix on his lap
Angela gasped and stepped back from the bar when she heard Norman say her name. She stared at me through the camera in befuddlement while removing the cross from Norman’s lap. I think she was seeking out some sort of comfort from me with that look of fear on her face. But there wasn’t anything I could provide her. I was just as stunned. Christina and I were witnessing and learning about this situation right along with her.
There was no question about it at this point. Norman knew what was going on. His clever and relevant responses clearly removed any doubt about that. So far, everything that I documented echoed the activity at the hotel. Norman once again proved to be self-aware. He described Chris. He called us out for laughing. He even addressed Mrs. McKenzie by her first name.
However, I wanted more than that. I needed something to happen that would help solidify the notion that he also had psychic abilities. All of his communication revolved around us. Not one time did he mention or even allude to the supernatural forces that already existed in the building. Certainly that was interesting to note, but again that’s not why we were there. I was hoping for a glimpse into the police chief’s haunting to prove the doll’s ability. Instead, something just as credible occurred.
Chris shocked us with what happened next. He can be a hard case sometimes. Chris is very skeptical when it comes to reported paranormal phenomena. I believe he did what he did hoping the test would fail just so he could say, “I told you so.”
Instead, what happened caused a very vocal person to become nearly speechless. I have to admit that I had never seen anything quite like it. Norman would prove the impossible possible.
The room was quiet again, and this was when Chris decided to take the lead in a very creative way. He grabbed his cell phone and chose a picture that only he and Norman could see.
Chris asked Norman, “Who is that? Who is that in the picture?”
Time just seemed to slow down altogether during this part in our communication session.
I was patiently and eagerly anticipating what Norman would say or do to the questions Chris proposed. I think we all were. Silence engulfed the room as I sat on the edge of my seat behind the camera.
Angela stared toward Norman and Chris. Christina remained still in her seat behind Chris. Michael and I stared intently into the camera monitor. Chris asked the question again as he held the photo right up to Norman. I could tell he was getting a little frustrated. Norman had been unresponsive since he called out Angela.
Chris continued to hold his cell phone where Norman could see it. The doll just stared and stared. Finally, right when I was about to change the direction of the session, Norman spoke up. He said only one word. He said, “Jacob.”
That name meant nothing to me and Christina. But the reaction from Chris said everything. Immediately following Norman’s response, Chris nervously and enthusiastically said, “Wow.”
This part of the investigation went down so fast and all at once. I was wondering what the hell blew his mind like that. Chris spoke up and said that he showed Norman a picture of his son Jacob. Christina and I never even knew Chris had a son, let alone one living all the way up in Virginia. This further added to Norman’s credibility after tapping into a child over a state away.
I blurted out, “Are you serious?”
I don’t know what satisfied me more. The fact that Norman legitimately answered the question correctly or the baffled and impressed look on the face of a now-convinced skeptic. It was safe to say that Chris walked away a believer that night.
I walked away with yet another fragment of Norman’s universe. Once again, the doll showed us a level beyond basic communication and understanding. Once again, he demonstrated a psychic power.
I can’t say for sure whether or not the residing spiritual energy played a role, but I can say the doll delivered beyond expectations. From the hotel to the Packhouse, Norman demonstrated he could use the energy of whoever is around him as a network into all relative elements.
What are the chances of a doll being haunted? What are the chances of a haunted doll being able to look at a picture and tell you what it is? I would say, very slim to both questions. Everything I was looking at so far with Norman broke all of the rules.
That’s the beauty of this field. It is never ending and forever evolving. There is always something new to observe and learn from. I thought the experiment at the Packhouse would have been enough to satisfy my curiosity. But hell, how could I possibly stop there?
I had been given that once-in-a-lifetime shot when Norman came into our lives. Why quit now? I had stumbled upon a unique entity with uncharted attributes.
I admit looking back that I became very obsessed with that doll. However, I still had yet to bring out of Norman what I wanted to see. I wanted to see that dark entity from 2016 again or the creepy, old passerby in our house from last Christmas.
I was still looking for a source. I was still trying to prove that Norman feeds off of the spiritual realm. I needed to see the big, bad wolf inside of Norman. There needed to be a level of certainty added to the equation. My theory was to place him in spiritually active locations to ignite the monster within.
The Packhouse succeeded on many levels but failed to produce anything beyond the smiling plastic of the doll. Little did I know, the answer would be right next door.